Hold Tight
by Harlan Coben
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Book Reviews of Hold Tight
Book Review: An alarming page turner...
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed Coben's The Woods a great deal but for some reason never got around to reviewing it here. Hold Tight was such a good read that I thought I should share my thoughts.
Hold Tight, as other reviewers have pointed out, is plot driven. However, there is a great deal of character developement in the story as well. I think Coben was more interested in examining the modern roles of parents and how their function as guardians play against the availability of technology. Should parents such as Mike and Tia Baye spy on their son, Adam, when they sense he is in emotional distress after the suicide of his best friend Spencer Hill? They do install a spyware program on the computer to monitor who he is chatting with and where he goes and are shocked by what they find.
I heard Mr. Coben on the Fox News channel this morning. I suspect that he is as interested in starting a national debate on what parents should do to keep their children safe as he is in writing another bestseller.
Suspenseful and thought provoking, Hold Tight is worth your time to read.
Peace Always
Book Review: A Suburban Mess
Summary: 5 Stars
Unexpected twists and turns complete with a surprising ending characterize the novels of this popular author, and this book is no exception. As with his previous efforts, Coben uses his New Jersey background for a setting, although for some strange reason the Bronx plays a vital role.
Mike and Tia Baye are a suburban couple with two children. He's a surgeon, she's an attorney. Their 16-year-old son has become withdrawn and sullen, especially after the suicide of his best friend, and they are unable to penetrate his withdrawal. So they go against their better judgment and begin spying on him. They place spyware on his computer to learn what he is surfing, and read his e-mails. Thus begins a trip down a dangerous path. The son runs away and his parents learn he plans to go to a drug and drinking party.
If that isn't enough excitement, there are a few other sub-plots with enough intrigue and danger to keep the reader on edge. Written with the author's accustomed tautness, the intricacies of the plot keep moving steadily forward to a rousing finish. Recommended.
Book Review: Coben can do much better
Summary: 3 Stars
Hold Tight, Harlan Coben's newest entry into what can now be considered a fairly sizeable body of mystery writings, is a disappointment. Actually, it is more that that - it is seemingly a total sell out by an author who had previously developed fun and interesting characters and wove them into a very good and taut story line. Now it appears (and one can obviously never be sure) that Coben is on some 5 book contract and he is just pumping them out. Hold Tight is all plot, and plenty of it. In fact - way too much and the author contrives to weave multiple sub-plots into an often disjointed main "theme". For those who have enjoyed his rich development of both characters and plot - keep hunting or read an earlier book. Coben is going the way of Grippando, but I remain hopeful and will give him one more book. After that his books will go on the shelf at my summer house that allows, nah, encourages visitors to bring the books home with them - no need to ever sent them back. Mr. Coben, you can go the way of Crais and Connelly or the shameless way of James Patterson. Your fans are holding tight.Book Review: Do parents really want to know the truth about their Teenagers?,
Summary: 5 Stars
In my opinion Coben is one of the most consistent writers in the thriller writer genre. All of his novels have been great reads, and I have been waiting for the release of "Hold Tight" since I finished "The Woods." This time out Coben has crafted a page turner that will make parents shudder. Coben is able to weave a number of real life concerns into this convincing thriller. This is something he is a master at---taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. The issues of teen suicide, a teen's right to privacy, parental spying, single parent families, and what should kids need to know and when are all explored. These issues are brought into focus though the eyes of parents who are dealing with the teen angst of their 16 year old son who's best friend recently committed suicide. When Mom and Dad start snooping on their son's computer they find something that chills them to the bone, something they might wish they did not know....I wont ruin the surprise but in typical Coben fashion things are not what they seem. Just be ready to settle in until the last page is turned.Book Review: Never disappointed
Summary: 5 Stars
Mr. Coben is my favorite writer and I am never disappointed by him. A lot of writers seem to lose "their touch" after time and I can honestly say that I don't see that with him. Each book is fast-paced and you don't want to put them down. In my opinion, the same is true with this book. There are more characters in this one than usual, but it was not hard to follow and he always brings them together in the end. He can't write them fast enough for me. I have read all of his books and, while I am a bit partial to the Myron Bolitar series, his other books keep me on the edge of my seat too. (I only wish he would expound a bit on the character of Win, we know so little about him). While I read Grisham, and both Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, I am always anxious in April for the "new Coben book." The only very slight drawback to this book is that it deals alot with kids and, being a mom myself, you kind of worry a bit about the kind of world this is becoming for kids. Even though the book is fiction, I think Mr. Coben, also a parent, knows what he is talking about.